David’s personal journey to remember Derby’s marching bands

In the latest edition of Marketing Derby’s Innovate magazine, we meet David Chabeaux, who shares his personal journey to make a film about the city’s marching band phenomena.

The Derby-born filmmaker is looking to make a feature-length documentary called Moz’s Band, which aims to remember and celebrate the marching band community in Derby and the East Midlands.

It will tell the story of the “banding” movement, which was born in Derby during the mid-1930s.

At its height, the banding community involved 10,000 people and more than 100 bands.

The community was pioneered and inspired by David’s grandfather Maurice “Moz” Ward, who is credited with starting the marching band movement with his Derby Serenaders.

Described as being like “one enormous family”, they would also gather throughout the year at discos, sports tournaments and social events, before slowly dying out after Moz passed away in 1994.

Now, David wants to tell the historical story of Moz, his Derby Serenaders and the banding movement – while bringing the narrative into a present-day focus.

He told Innovate magazine: “I’ve been attracted to the idea of this project for a long time because the subject matter has never left me.

“We all want to belong, to have purpose in our lives, and in this hyper-materialistic world, the more we discover that trying to fill the void inside us with ’stuff’ doesn’t work, the more there’s a tendency to search for authentic ways to find belonging and purpose without it.

“My grandfather’s story is obviously very important to me, and I’m interested in the journey he took – as a musician, leader and a working-class man –inspiring me and so many others, with the promise of money and ‘stuff’ nowhere in sight.

“The film is an exploration of what it really means to belong and what that might mean in today’s world.”

To read the full article in the latest Innovate magazine click here.